Migrants: UNHCR, no intention of creating camps in Tunisia

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) does not plan to create refugee camps in Tunisia for those who have been deported from Libya due to mistreatment, Tunisian news agency Tap reports, quoting the agency’s representative in the North African country, Mazin Abu Shanab.

Shanab was also quoted as saying that it will be possible to send back the refugees and migrants to their home countries, including Chad and Niger.

The UNHCR office in Libya is closely monitoring the situation and the condition of migrants in Libya, Shanab added on the sidelines of a training session in Medenine on refugees.

Refugees who arrive in Tunisia are processed on a case-by-case basis and their number isn’t as high as to justify housing them in a camp, the UNHCR representative said. According to official data provided by the UN agency, Tunisia currently hosts 650 refugees, mostly Syrian nationals, and some 300 are in Medenine.